In summer and early fall, eating healthy gets easier and tastier, thanks to the availability of local produce. The vitamin-packed recipe below is provided by the RWJBarnabas Health Wellness on Wheels mobile greenhouse and cooking school, which travels around the state to provide free nutrition education and demonstrations to local neighborhoods.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped into ¼-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced into ¼-inch to ½-inch pieces
- 2 zucchini, diced into ¼-inch to ½-inch pieces (or use 2 cups of frozen chopped zucchini)
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3½ cups fresh tomatoes (or canned low-sodium tomatoes, including the juice)
- 1 lemon, quartered
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Directions:
Put a pot on the stove over medium-low heat and when it is hot, add the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until golden, about 10 minutes.
Add the eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, dried basil and oregano and cook, covered, until the eggplant is very soft, about 40 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Serve garnished with lemon quarters and fresh basil, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.